Being altruistic, down to the marrow

This afternoon, students can put their names down to potentially save lives.

The National Marrow Donor Program will hold the second of two on-campus drives from 1 to 4 p.m. in Biomedical Research Building I.

The program is an effort to get community members to volunteer their information for the national registry, which links donors to cancer patients in need of bone marrow transplants.

Pat Thompson, spokesman for the registry, said that minority donors are particularly needed.

"Tissue typing for minority donors is paid for and there is no charge," Thompson said. "It is oftentimes more difficult for minorities to find a match. Leukemia and blood diseases are color blind, but tissue typing is more complex" for minorities.

According to Stephen Emerson, division chief of hematology and oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, signing up to be on the registry involves listing a medical history and a quick blood test that is used in order to determine tissue type. A swab of cheek cells may also be taken.

"Should someone need your marrow in the future, we will generate stem cells from it," he said, once the donor's medical history is evaluated.

In the event that a match is found for the donor's marrow, the donation procedure involves anesthesia and a surgical needle being inserted into the back of the pelvic bone through small incisions.

Alice Kaplan, who works for the National Marrow Donor Program at Penn-Jersey Region based in Center City.

The marrow itself regenerates in a few weeks.

But though they won't actually be donating their marrow right off the bat, registrants should be aware that signing up is a major commitment, Thompson said.

Karon Felder of Salisbury, Md., whose sister was treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma, said that her sister suffered "agony" when a donor opted out at the last minute.

"It can be very frustrating and crushing to a patient who depends on you when you don't pull through," Felder said. "It's not something you do to look good on a resume."

Registrants will be kept on the national registry until their 61st birthdays and are asked to keep the registry informed of any address changes that occur over time.

There is relatively minimal risk to the procedure, save for infection, which is always a factor in any surgery, according to

Thompson said that students should consider registering because "the more people that join the registry, the greater chances are that patients can find a matching donor for leukemia and other blood diseases."

"There are patients out there right now that have not found a match and hopefully if more people join, they will have hope of finding a match" Thompson said.

Kaplan agreed, adding that, for donors, "the younger the better."

"Hopefully Penn students are altruistic and will possibly save a life in the future," Kaplan said.

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